Lakers G Bryant day-to-day with hyperextended knee

Bryant, who suffered the injury in the Los Angeles Lakers'
102-98 win over Charlotte on Tuesday, says he hopes to play
Thursday against the Bobcats. He sustained the injury when he
bumped into teammate Josh Powell and landed awkwardly while
trying to rebound teammate Sun Yue's missed shot.

He scored four points in 14 minutes before leaving.

"My knee just went back and I felt a little crunch, a little
pop," Bryant told the paper. "I was worried. That's the
scariest part, is just sitting there for five or 10 minutes and
waiting to see what's going to develop."

It was a tense moment for Bryant and the Lakers, who have
championship aspirations. The Lakers lost the NBA Finals in six
games to the Boston Celtics last season.

"I saw the ring flash before my eyes," he said, a reference to
Los Angeles' title hopes.

Bryant did not practice on Wednesday, but may play Thursday.

"If I'm good enough to go, I'm going to go. I don't see why
not," he told the paper.

Bryant already had injury concerns entering this season, as the
star guard had decided not to have surgery on his injured right
pinkie. The two-time scoring champion has long refused a
surgical procedure on the digit - which has been injured since
February - if it meant missing any regular-season contests.

Los Angeles opens the regular season against the Portland Trail
Blazers on October 28, and Bryant said, "I should be fine."